This might not be the best time for a sightseeing trip to Iraq, but travel writer Michael Luongo is speaking Thursday at the Mid-Manhattan Library on “Visiting Iraq: The Impossible Becomes the Possible in Kurdistan.”

Luongo, author of “Gay Travels in the Muslim World,” told me, “Erbil, the regional Kurdish capital, is the Arab City of Tourism for 2014, designated by the Arab League. The city beat out Beirut and Sharjah for the title.”

Luongo is braver than most travelers. On a recent trip to the Vatican, where he failed to see the Pope — an acquaintance from his days in Buenos Aires — he was able to pick up a young man, and have sex in the palazzo of the late Prince Egon von Furstenberg.

“Another handsome young man — really, a fan of my books — wanted to ride around Rome with me on a Vespa on my last night, which was a great way to end the trip. A Vespa ride and an orgasm, can’t beat that!”